It gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 afternoon Thursday at the Adidas 7-on-7 State Championships at Southwest William-son County Regional Park. Chapel Hill defeated Dublin (41-20) and Port Isabel (33-6) in its first two games.

“Last year during football season we were really young and no one had varsity experience, so coming here gives us that experience at a premier level,” said Black, who threw two touchdowns and caught two more in the win over Wimberley.

It proved to be a good day all around for East Texas with four of the six qualified teams finishing first or second in their pool to move into the championship bracket of the Division II tournament.

Gilmer went unbeaten in its pool, with White Oak and Canton finishing second, in their respective pools.

Only two ET teams will play more than one game today, however, after the draw for the championship bracket delivered Gilmer against White Oak and Chapel Hill against Canton. Both games will take place at 9 a.m. at Southwest Regional Park.

Carthage and Wills Point will compete today in the consolation bracket. Carthage faces Abilene Wylie at 8 a.m. with Wills Point set to battle Kaufman at the same time.

Chapel Hill, which alternated quarterbacks using Black and Konnor Hitchcock, made quick work of Dublin before displaying its defensive prowess in the win over Port Isabel.

The Bulldogs intercepted four passes while Gabriel Robinson and Deundra Phillips took turns catching balls from Black in the end zone. Chapel Hill led 20-0 at halftime and cruised through the second half with Black providing the final TD on a pass from Hitchcock.

Wimberley also won its first two games, so both teams were qualified for the championship with the final game to determine the first or second seed from Pool M. Black did not waste any time delivering Chapel Hill’s intentions, hooking up with Phillips for a 40-yard scoring strike on the game’s opening play.

A Hitchcock TD pass to Black made it 13-7, followed by an interception of Wimberley’s QB by Sammy Guzman.

That was the last time Wimberley was held down until late in the second half, when the Texans scored on two straight drives to build a 27-13 lead. Facing certain defeat, Chapel Hill got its spark on defense when Gabrielle Robinson picked off a pass. The Bulldogs used that momentum to produce back-to-back scoring drives and tie the game on a 40-yard bomb to Black from Hitchcock.

Another defensive stand gave Chapel Hill the opportunity to take the lead, and Black delivered a 25-yard strike down the sideline to an uncovered Reggie King.

“We usually run that play with hitches, so I decided to change it up with dig (routes),” Black said of the final TD pass. “The corner bought on the dig and the safety did too, so it was a Christmas present (for King).”

Wimberley had a chance to answer back and did, but decided to go for 2 points and the win. Guzman intercepted his second pass to seal first place in the pool.

Canton quarterback Chandler Eiland almost single-handedly secured a 3-0 finish for the Eagles, throwing two touchdown passes in the first half of their final game against East Bernard before returning an interception for a TD in the second half.

A late comeback by East Bernard denied the Eagles in a 21-20 loss.

“Last year we did really well, making it to the Elite 8, and it’s kind of hard to follow that, but we’re happy with (today),” Eiland said. “We are just real excited to be in the championship bracket.”